(CNS): The Ministry of Health has appointed Dr Mark Paramlall as the Cayman Islands Government’s first deputy chief medical officer (DCMO), which it says will strengthen senior medical leadership within government and support the expanding scope of national public health oversight and coordination. Dr Paramlall, who started the job last month, is working under the direction of Chief Medical Officer Dr Hilary Wolf.
A press release about the newly created role said it carries statutory responsibilities across several areas of health legislation, including the Mental Health, Public Health, Health Practice and Pharmacy Acts.
The post supports engagement with regional and international public health organisations, including the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the World Health Organization (WHO), and includes focal point responsibilities related to the International Health Regulations.
Chief Officer Tamara Ebanks said the new position reflects the evolving demands placed on public health leadership, the increasing scope and complexity of public health governance and the need to strengthen strategic medical leadership within government.
“Dr Paramlall brings extensive clinical expertise, academic experience and health system leadership. His appointment also reflects the continued development of Caymanian professionals contributing to national health leadership,” she said.
Dr Paramlall will work closely with Dr Wolf on national public health priorities outlined in the ministry’s strategic plan. She said the new DCMO will support key statutory public health responsibilities and contribute to coordination across the health system.
“Dr Paramlall’s background in neuropsychiatry, academic medicine and clinical leadership will bring valuable expertise to this work, and I look forward to working closely with him,” the CMO added.
Dr Paramlall’s earliest professional experience was at the Cayman Islands Hospital, where he worked as one of the original staff members in the Forensic Laboratory before leaving to pursue medical training overseas. Since then, he has had an international career in neuropsychiatry and medical leadership across the United Kingdom and Canada. In 2022, he received the Cayman Connection Health and Wellness Making Waves Award. He has presented at international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals on neuropsychiatry.
Following qualification in medicine, he completed core internal medicine and psychiatry training through the London Deanery before entering the South London and Maudsley Higher Training Scheme, a major psychiatric training and research programme in Europe. He completed advanced specialty training in neuropsychiatry at the Lishman Unit at Bethlem Royal Hospital and at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery at Queen Square, London, ranked third globally for neurology in the 2023 World’s Best Specialized Hospitals rankings by Newsweek and Statista.
Dr Paramlall has held senior clinical leadership roles, including deputy medical director and later medical director at brain injury rehabilitation centres in Bristol and London, and consultant in neuropsychiatry at the national neuro-rehabilitation unit at Queen Square.
He later moved to Canada as an assistant professor and consultant neuropsychiatrist at Dalhousie University, where he established the Neuropsychiatry Programme and was subsequently appointed Associate Head of the Section of Acute, Consultation and Emergency Psychiatry within the Department of Psychiatry. In 2025, he received the Department of Psychiatry’s Educator of the Year Award and continues to serve as an adjunct professor.
Dr Paramlall said the appointment represents a return to the community that shaped his early life and career. “There comes a point in your career where you stop asking where the next opportunity is and start asking where you are most needed,” he said. “For me, the answer has always been home. The Cayman Islands gave me my values and my work ethic, and this role is an opportunity to contribute those experiences back to the country.
“I never stopped thinking about home. Every skill I developed, every system I observed, every challenge I worked through, I was always asking how this could apply to Cayman. This role provides the opportunity to contribute to that work in a practical way,” he added.
